


The words hung above (but never would form)

by whynotcherries



Series: Such sweet nothing [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, No Incest, Pre-Canon, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23010655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whynotcherries/pseuds/whynotcherries
Summary: Vanya calls Klaus when it's not safe for her to walk home by herself.Part of the 'We lost track of time' series
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves
Series: Such sweet nothing [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630267
Comments: 11
Kudos: 369





	The words hung above (but never would form)

**Author's Note:**

> I still can't think of an addition to that series that would fit so this is just going to go here until I can think of someplace it may fit there. If you have any ideas for that series please let me know what you're thinking could come next because I am _so_ stuck.

“Vanya, dear, I’m homeee!” Klaus calls from the doorway, slamming the door behind him and throwing his coat over the back of the couch- for a moment, he remembers his sister _explicitly_ telling him that there’s a coat rack and that he’s to use it, but, well, details, details.

He walks further into the house, “Van’? You home?” he turns down the hallway, poking his head into her room. _Nope._

It’s not usually odd for her not to be home, since she has, you know, a _job_ , so he’s somewhat used to being in the house on his own. Just not this late at night. 

He walks over to the bathroom- the doors closed, so he knocks, “Van’?” he asks, before swinging it open- if she’s home alone, there wouldn’t be any reason to lock the door, but what if she hit her head or something? 

He looks around, even going and checking behind the shower curtain, but she’s not there, either. He huffs, confused, before turning around and walking out. 

“Maybe you should call her work,” Ben suggests from his place on the counter. 

Klaus shakes his head, taking a seat on the couch and propping his feet up on the ottoman, turning the TV on, “Nah, rehearsal probably just ran late. She’ll be home soon,” he says, and as if on cue, the phone starts ringing. 

Usually, he lets it go to voicemail. Usually, though, he’s not trying to push down a sense of worry for the _one person_ in his life that might actually love him. So, he picks it up, hoping at the very least to be distracted by a spam caller that he can mess with.

“Hey-o,” he answers, leaning back against the couch.

“Hey, Klaus,” he hears, and immediately recognizes it as Vanya’s voice, “I, um- we’re still on for dinner, right?” 

They hadn’t planned a dinner. He’s sure of it, because, let’s be honest, he would’ve been looking forward to that all day if they had. But, he knows his sister, and if she’s bringing something like that up, she’s bringing it up for a good reason.

So, he plays along, “Absolutely, dear sister! Where shall I meet you?” he asks, already standing and pulling on his coat, thanking the _gods_ that he’d left it someplace convenient for him to grab it and go.

He hears her sigh, “The cafe off of sixth street, remember?” and he’s _sure_ that she’s just pretending to be annoyed- even if they _had_ planned something, she knows him well enough to know not to expect him to remember the exact place.

Thank god he knows where sixth street is, either way.

“Ah, yes. I’m on my way,” he says, and he practically runs out the door, because although she was asking about dinner, he knows his sister, and that was _not_ a normal conversation for her.

He gets to sixth street a few minutes later, and he sees Vanya walking, with nobody nearby besides a man shortly behind her. He walks up and hugs her, “Are you ready?” he asks, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. 

She nods, and he can feel her shaking even as they walk.

After a while, the man behind them changes paths and they walk straight past the cafe that Vanya had been talking about, going all the way home. They walk inside, and within seconds of taking off her coat, she breaks down crying.

Klaus looks at her, concerned, before practically sweeping her into his arms, “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks, holding her tight and swaying gently back and forth. 

She doesn’t answer, but instead starts crying even harder, sobs wracking her body as she clings to him with what must be all of her strength, “Van’? Hey,” he whispers, pulling her back a little bit, he sees her face and sighs, wiping her cheeks before leading her to the couch.

They sit down and he pulls her back into a hug.

“What happened?” he asks once she’s calmed down a little bit.

She leans back, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve, “He was following me, and I- I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t think you’d be home or if you’d answer, and I-” she sobs, covering her face up, “I didn’t know what was gonna happen,” she shrinks in on herself and starts crying again.

Klaus gapes for a minute before pulling her into his arms- maybe a little rougher than he should- and squeezing her tight, “It’s okay, you’re okay now. Nothing happened, nothing’s gonna happen to you. You’re okay,” he whispers, rocking side to side, “you’re okay,” he whispers again, closing his eyes tight.

* * *

Vanya groans, slamming her computer shut and closing her eyes, “I _hate_ late practices,” she grumbles, putting her head down over her laptop.

“She used to _love_ late practices,” Ben says, puzzled, looking up at Klaus from his book.

Klaus sighs, looking at him and then glancing up to Vanya, who sits at the table.

He stands, walking over to her and putting his hand on her shoulder before sitting down beside her, “Hey, here’s an idea! How about I come pick you up? We can walk home together! Maybe grab some take out on the way,” he suggests, grabbing her hand.

She sits up, mouth open for a second before snapping it shut, “You want to come that far just to walk home with me?” she asks in disbelief.

He nods, not skipping a single beat, “Of course! It’s the least I can do, what with you letting me stay here,” he says, “plus, _takeout_ ,” he adds, smiling.

She smiles, clearly tearing up a little bit as she pulls out her chair and throws her arms around him.

* * *

“Lo mein? Is that different than chow mein?” Klaus asks, grabbing the box from across the table and opening it to inspect it. He makes a face and then nods, “Huh. I guess it is,” he shrugs, grabbing his fork and dishing some out onto his plate.

He holds it out to Vanya, “Want some?” he asks, and she nods, taking it and smiling.

She dishes some out and sets it down nearly silently, “Thanks,” she whispers. He looks up at her, confused, because it’s been a hot second since he passed her the noodles, before she adds, “for walking home with me today. You didn’t have to do that.”

He shakes his head, “Why wouldn’t I? I want you to be safe,” he says, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand, “I’ll come walk home with you for _all_ of your night practices if it makes you feel safe,” he promises.

She smiles, “I’d like that,” she whispers, squeezing his hand back.


End file.
